THE federal government has been forced to find an extra $16.4 billion of budget savings over the next four years to keep its surpluses intact, after a troubled global economy took a further toll on tax receipts.
Treasurer Wayne Swan's mid-year budget review released on Monday predicts a $1.1 billion surplus in 2012/13, down about 27 per cent from the $1.5 billion surplus forecast in the May budget.
But it would still be a massive turnaround from a final $43.7 billion deficit for 2011/12.
The economic growth forecast for this financial year in the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (MYEFO) was also marked down to three per cent, from 3.25 per cent previously.
Mr Swan says anyone suggesting Australia is immune from the global fallout of economic weakness in Europe, the US and China is "kidding themselves".
"It's pretty obvious to all that ... this mid-year review has been put together amid storm clouds which are hanging over the global economy," he told reporters in Canberra.
"This lower global growth outlook has had another very big whack at government tax revenues and has made it harder to deliver a surplus."
The latest round of savings includes a cut in the baby bonus from $5000 to $3000 for second and subsequent children from mid-2013, further changes to the private health insurance rebate and increased visa application costs.
"Our savings send a very clear message to the world that we have world beating public finances," Mr Swan said.
"That is very important given global economic uncertainty."
But Mr Swan said the savings were made with the circumstances of lower and middle-income Australians in mind and would give the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) room to cut interest rates in the future.
Under other changes, large companies will progressively shift to remitting taxes to the government each month, instead of quarterly, from 2014.
This will deliver a revenue gain of $8.3 billion over four years and make the system "more accurate, more timely and more clear".
"It's not an increase in tax; it's simply a change in the timing of it," Mr Swan said.
Finance Minister Penny Wong said some of the savings measures would "no doubt be unpopular".
"But the government is focused on making the right decisions for our circumstances and ensuring a strong and sustainable budget position now and into the future," she said.
One budget casualty is the expected revenue from Labor's minerals resource rent tax (MRRT), which has been hit by falling commodity prices, particularly for iron ore.
Total MRRT revenue for 2012/13 and the next three years is estimated at $9.1 billion, down from $13.4 billion in the May budget.
First instalments of the 30 per cent MRRT on the profits of large iron ore and coal miners, which started on July 1, were due to be received on Monday.
Meanwhile net commonwealth debt, which peaked at 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011/12, is in a declining trend.
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